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Vienna

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Vienna
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Vienna Travel Guide

  • About Vienna
Vienna is a city that will surprise you. It’s a place where the romantic strains of Mozart mingle with hip-hop beats, where stylish, cutting-edge bars sit opposite coffee houses frequented by grand dames and their miniature dogs; and where traditional delicacies from Naschmarkt stalls are sampled alongside modern and experimental cuisine.The city today is a beguiling mix of old and new, perhaps best illustrated by the innovative Museums Quartier cultural district. Here the courtyard of the old Spanish riding stables, featuring Vienna’s largest baroque facade, have been transformed into a dizzying example of contemporary museum architecture. Exquisite furnishings, stunning avant-garde works and pre-historic relics are just some of the cultural gems in residence.For most, Vienna is classical music, imperial history and monumental architecture; for others, it is forever linked with The Third Man and its haunting Harry Lime Theme.This is a city of art and thought. It’s where Klimt crafted The Kiss and where The Secession movement marked a new age of painting. Ideas were forged here in a white-hot crucible of modernity; culture was transformed in an age of reason and thought.But the city is not just about these ‘classic experiences’. Visitors to Vienna today will notice that something powerful is occurring in the Austrian capital: it’s alive. New buildings are everywhere: Zaha Hadid’s Wiener Wirtschaftsuniversitat library is a stunning new sight on the skyline, as is the DC Tower (Austria’s tallest building) which has the luxury Melia Hotel halfway up it.Vienna is cool right now and – whisper it – it’s even challenging Berlin. Visit Vienna Design Week or Waves Festival, both in September, and you will no longer think Vienna is fuddy-duddy. Hip bands, fashion designers and architects are flooding the city. Edgy bars where artists and students hang out are energising. This is a city that has a rich past, but it’s one that’s going places too.
  • Vienna History
By the 20th century, Vienna was the largest German-speaking city in the world and the capital of the mighty AustroHungarian Empire. But its roots lie in another empire, that of the Romans, to whom Vienna was known as the battle-scarred frontier town, Vindobona.When the Romans finally withdrew, the town became an important centre of Celtic Christianity but, by 976, Leopold I of Babenberg became count of the surrounding district that eventually grew into the Duchy of Austria. The real making of Vienna was another 200 years away when the city finally found its feet under Duke Henry II Jasomirgott who moved the Babenberg capital to Vienna in 1145.From here, the city continued to grow and expand, and by 1483, had become the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire under the Habsburgs. The city was occupied by Hungary between 1485 and 1490, and it also became a front line city once more, this time in the ongoing wars between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire, with Turkish armies twice halted just short of the city gates.By 1804 and the Napoleonic Wars, Vienna was secure and had become capital of the Habsburg’s Austrian Empire. In 1867, with the signing of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, it became the leading city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had the building boom to go with it.But Vienna’s dominance came to an end when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered in Sarajevo in 1914. Austria went to war and was defeated. The Habsburg’s were no more. Demoralised, Vienna became a hotbed of socialist politics and violent outbreaks. All this ended with Anschluss (union) with Germany in 1938; but once again, the ensuing war left Austria and Vienna badly damaged.The Soviets took the city from the Nazis in 1945 and once they withdrew in 1955. Vienna once more became the capital of Austria and slowly began to rebuild. Palaces and concert halls were restored, while, in the 1970s, Vienna became home to several large international organisations. Today, the city is a peaceful place with little sign of the violent conflicts that once convulsed it.
  • Did you know?
The snow globe was invented by Erwin Perzy I in Vienna in 1900. He was attempting to make a light bulb at the time. Vienna is famous for its composers with Strauss, Mozart and Wagner among those to live in the city. PEZ candy was invented in Vienna in 1927. Their lighter-shaped dispensers were introduced in 1949 as the inventor, Edward Haas III, wanted people to eat candy as an alternative to smoking.
  • Weather in Vienna
Vienna’s climate is generally moderate, although the city can experience heavy snowfalls and low temperatures from December to March, as well as occasionally high temperatures in July and August.Spring (March to May) is the best time to visit Vienna as temperatures are reasonable and classical music events like the Vienna Spring Festival are in full swing. It also a great time to take advantage of the many walks and hikes through the Vienna Woods or local conservation areas.Summer (June to August) is comfortable with an average daily temperature of 20°C (68°F), although heavy thundershowers are likely. Though busy with tourists, many locals will decamp to summer residences to escape the heat.Autumn (September to November) has fresh and mild days. It also receives less rainfall than in summer. Less touristy and once again busy with locals, it’s often the best time of year to visit Vienna’s many top tourist attractions.Winter (December to February) is relatively dry and cold, though it’s also the best time to savour the elegance of Vienna amidst soft falling snow. It is also when Vienna’s amazing Christmas markets come to life. Vienna’s Christmas market on Rathausplatz is one of the best, with 150 sales booths coming to life under twinkling lights.

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